Obstacle courses are commonly used in education and training to challenge participants physically and mentally. They can also be used to teach participants about a particular environment without actually placing them in that environment. For example, obstacle courses that mimic a city struck by a natural disaster currently exist, and are used to train search and rescue personnel in the safe and effective rescue of citizens. Obstacle courses are also used to mimic the confined and tortuous passages of caves for search and rescue training and other educational purposes. Such obstacle courses generally mimic cave environments in an ad hoc manner using readily available materials such as plastic flagging tape, picnic tables, or playground equipment. However, in addition to containing confined and tortuous passages, real cave environments contain mineral deposits, often called cave formations or speleothems. Many types of formations exist, and common examples are stalactites and stalagmites. Commonly accepted wisdom among cave researchers, enthusiasts, and rescue personnel indicates that physical contact with cave formations should be avoided for two primary reasons: contact can damage the formations and/or halt their mineral growth; contact can cause injury, such as abrasion, puncture wounds, or splinter-type wounds. Despite the fact that real caves contain a plethora of types of cave formations, currently available cave obstacle courses do not model the appearance of caves, do not contain models of cave formations, and do not provide feedback to the user about how successfully the user has avoided contact with the cave formations. Thus, there is room for improvement in cave obstacle courses.